Business is Business and Loyalty Means Nothing.

It’s been a while since I’ve been able to talk about basketball and with the NBA lockout officially coming to an end this past Monday I feel the need to address some of the rumors surrounding my beloved Portland Trail Blazers. If you’re a Blazer fan, Brandon Roy has a special place in your heart. It’s hard to describe how much Roy has done for the franchise because he has literally done everything right. Three years ago he accepted his role as the face of the organization and not only did he fulfill all of our expectations, he FLOURISHED under pressure.

Let’s reflect for a moment and look back to the 2004-2005 season when the Blazers went 27-55 and finished 4th in the Northwest division. In case you forgot, the Blazers employed guys like Darius Miles, Damon Stoudamire and Zach Randolph, all of which played a part in earning the nickname the “Portland Jail Blazers.” This was a time when Portland fans (including myself) had little to cheer about… other than the season coming to end.

It wasn’t until the 2006-2007 season that Blazer fans actually had something to be excited about when Portland surprisingly had a solid draft. Somehow the Blazers managed to steal both LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy with the 2nd and 6thpick of 2006 NBA draft. Roy saw immediate playing time and went on to achieve the NBA rookie of the year award, living up to all of the post college expectations. The Blazers were transformed into contenders in the western conference and Roy continued to have success, being named to the All-Star team the next 3 seasons.

Brandon Roy was named to the Western Conference All-Star team in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Photo credit to Keith Allison.

As a devoted Trailblazers fan, I was one of many who had been desperately waiting for a player to ignite our franchise and Roy was our savior. Portland took advantage of having a young talent like Roy and used him to rejuvenate the organization sending a new message to fans: “The future is now.” The Blazers marketing team saw an opportunity and ran with it. Billboards and banners were scattered throughout the city featuring Roy and the new statement to fans.

Unfortunately for Roy, last season he was plagued with bad knees and had to sit out nearly half the season. Now it seems that the Blazers are trying to cut ties with Roy in order for them to save millions of dollars over the next two seasons. Roy’s knees are supposedly so bad that doctors recommended he stop playing basketball, or pay the price down the road.

I will wrap this up and give you my thoughts on this whole mess. I was shocked when I heard the Blazers were trying to waive Roy, who has been the face of our franchise for the past four seasons. I understand the guy has bad knees and that Portland would essentially have to pay a tremendous amount of money to someone who may not have much left in the tank. That being said, YOU JUST CAN’T DO IT! There’s no way to predict what Roy is capable of and we all saw that last year during the Dallas series. If the Blazers cut Brandon Roy before even giving him a chance to prove himself in training camp Portland fans will never forgive the organization, myself included. I find it truly disrespectful to give up on a Blazer in the way that Portland is giving up on Roy. Brandon Roy is our Tim Tebow. Fans love him and they want to see him in a Portland uniform this season. From a business standpoint, the organization has to do what is best for the future of the franchise. If cutting Brandon Roy from the squad is truly in the best interest of the team than by all means, go ahead. However, do so with extreme caution because Blazer fans can’t take much more at this point.